The hotel industry has long been dominated by major global corporations, making it difficult for newcomers to break into the field without significant financial resources and industry connections. However, building startup Tomu Inc. wants to change the landscape by offering an innovative and accessible solution: modular hotel units.
Tomu Inc., a sustainability-focused development startup that designs and builds prefabricated housing units, has started production of its luxury hotel units. The startup's modular system provides aspiring hoteliers with turnkey hotel units, akin to upscale tiny house hotel rooms, that are sustainable, affordable, and customizable to cater to various audiences, including underserved travelers. Chris Osaka, CEO of Tomu Inc., emphasizes the company's mission to empower a more diverse range of hosts and hoteliers.
“Our sustainable modular hotel units save money and time, while providing the individual owner a realistic opportunity to enter into the hospitality industry," says Osaka. The CEO underscores that Tomu can bring concepts to life, from design to delivery, within a few months.
Building Customized Modular Hotel Units
The company's approach extends to various types of accommodations, from landscape hotels and cozy bed and breakfasts to compact micro hotels and food and wine-themed properties. Tomu's selling point lies in its proprietary prefab hotel units, which allow property owners to design their rooms with different aesthetics to target specific customer segments.
The process involves selecting a prefab unit shell from Tomu and working closely with a design team to fully customize the physical elements and desired design parameters. The company offers three levels of unit configuration:
- Ready To Stay: Tomu's line of detached guest units, known as the Villa Collection, come in studio, one-, and two-bedroom floor plans—all designed in a distinctive Tomu aesthetic. The Villa Collection caters to the evolving preferences of modern travelers, suitable for both short weekend getaways and longer stays.
- Made To Suit: Developer clients have the option to customize configurations of Tomu's Villa Collection to align with project requirements. The startup collaborates with developers to tailor amenities to match the project's unique concept.
- Fully Bespoke: Rather than maintaining Tomu's signature material palette and fixtures, this configuration gives clients full design control.
To support their vision, Tomu recently acquired a 15,000-sf production facility at the Hagerstown Regional Airport in Hagerstown, Md., in order to expand manufacturing capabilities and production by Q4 2023. Learn more about Tomu Inc. on the company's website.
Related Stories
| Jul 18, 2014
Top Engineering Firms [2014 Giants 300 Report]
Fluor, Arup, Day & Zimmermann top Building Design+Construction's 2014 ranking of the largest engineering firms in the United States.
| Jul 18, 2014
Top Architecture Firms [2014 Giants 300 Report]
Gensler, Perkins+Will, NBBJ top Building Design+Construction's 2014 ranking of the largest architecture firms in the United States.
| Jul 18, 2014
2014 Giants 300 Report
Building Design+Construction magazine's annual ranking the nation's largest architecture, engineering, and construction firms in the U.S.
| Jul 17, 2014
A harmful trade-off many U.S. green buildings make
The Urban Green Council addresses a concern that many "green" buildings in the U.S. have: poor insulation.
Sponsored | | Jul 17, 2014
A major hop forward
The construction of efficient metal buildings has helped Perrault Farms expand its hops-harvesting business.
| Jul 15, 2014
A look into the history of modular construction
Modular construction is more than a century old, and throughout its lifespan, the methods have been readapted to meet specific needs of different eras.
| Jul 9, 2014
The one misstep that could be slowing your company’s growth
Change. It’s inevitable. And success for any professional may very well depend on how well we adapt to it. SPONSORED CONTENT
| Jul 7, 2014
7 emerging design trends in brick buildings
From wild architectural shapes to unique color blends and pattern arrangements, these projects demonstrate the design possibilities of brick.
| Jul 2, 2014
Emerging trends in commercial flooring
Rectangular tiles, digital graphic applications, the resurgence of terrazzo, and product transparency headline today’s commercial flooring trends.
| Jun 30, 2014
Gen X, not Baby Boomers, spending the most money on homes [infographic]
It turns out that Generation X, who have the highest incomes of the three generations surveyed, are paying the highest home payments and tend to have the largest households.
